Muhammad Sohail

Class of 2026-2027

Bahauddin Zakariya University, University of Notre Dame
Bachelor's in Chemistry, Master's in Chemistry

Capstone Project Abstract

Muhammad Sohail’s capstone project with Neurocrine Biosciences will explore the post-GLP-1 patient and physician journey within the rapidly evolving obesity and metabolic treatment landscape. The project will focus on understanding what happens when patients discontinue GLP-1 therapy, experience an incomplete or inadequate response, switch treatments, or modify their dosing—and, importantly, which unmet needs are significant enough to change patient or physician behavior with the emergence of next-generation therapies.
Through primary research with patients and healthcare professionals, Muhammad will map key patient journeys and physician decision drivers, testing the role of factors such as tolerability, body composition and muscle loss, access and cost, treatment burden, and durability of response. The research will distinguish between challenges that are inconvenient but accepted and those that meaningfully drive discontinuation, switching, or other treatment decisions.
The project will synthesize these findings into a prioritized, customer-centered view of the most important unmet needs in the post-GLP-1 landscape, supported by a scenario-based framework to assess their relative scale and importance. The goal is to provide Neurocrine with actionable insights that deepen its understanding of evolving patient and physician needs and highlight areas warranting further attention in obesity and metabolic health.

Why did you choose ESTEEM?

I chose ESTEEM because I wanted to become more than a scientist who develops new ideas I wanted to understand how those ideas become technologies, products, and businesses that create real-world impact.
My training as a chemist and Ph.D. researcher at Notre Dame has taught me how to investigate difficult problems, work through uncertainty, and develop solutions grounded in scientific evidence. However, I realized that scientific discovery is only one part of innovation. Transforming a discovery into something that improves people's lives requires understanding customers, markets, strategy, finance, commercialization, and leadership.
ESTEEM gives me the opportunity to develop that broader perspective while remaining deeply connected to technology and science. I am especially excited by the program's emphasis on entrepreneurship and customer discovery because it challenges me to think beyond whether something can be built and instead ask whether it should be built, who needs it, and how it can create lasting value.
For me, ESTEEM represents the bridge between scientific discovery and meaningful innovation.

What do you hope to do after ESTEEM?

After ESTEEM, I hope to build a career at the intersection of science, engineering, technology, and business. I am particularly interested in advanced technology industries such as semiconductors, where scientific innovation, sophisticated manufacturing, and large-scale technological impact come together.
In the near term, I hope to contribute to technology development and process innovation within a leading technology company, using both my scientific training and the business perspective developed through ESTEEM to solve complex problems and help bring new technologies to market.
Over the long term, my goal is to grow into a technology leader and entrepreneur. I want to identify meaningful problems, build teams around promising ideas, and ultimately help create and commercialize technologies that can have a lasting impact. ESTEEM is helping me develop the entrepreneurial mindset and business foundation necessary to turn that ambition into reality.

What do you like to do in your free time?

In my free time, I enjoy playing video games, especially on PlayStation, going to the gym, traveling, and cooking. I also enjoy spending time outdoors and visiting places surrounded by nature, which gives me a chance to recharge and explore new environments. At Notre Dame, I enjoy participating in cultural activities on campus and meeting people from different backgrounds. Overall, I value activities that keep me active, allow me to experience new places and cultures, and help me stay connected with my community. Go Irish!